Hercules and the Apollo Mission
"Hercules and the Apollo Mission" is the first episode of Hercules: The Animated Series. It first aired August 31, 1998. Plot The announcer describes the rising of the sun being pulled by Apollo's chariot. The Muses interrupt him and tell him to skip to Hercules at the mall. Mr. Parentheses assigns jobs to his students. Adonis gets a cushy job at the puppet show, Cassandra at the information center, and Icarus at Aphrodite's secret. Herc gets the last job and is excited until he finds out it is at Gyro Wurld (which he mistook for Hero Wurld). His boss tells him the phrase is "Make mine mutton" and teaches him the rules: always wear your oven mitts, lift with your legs, and stir "counter-sundialwise." Adonis comes by to rub it in Hercules' face and make sheep-related puns. Hercules quits his job and sulks. He talks to a statue of Zeus, who promises to find a better job for him. At a council of the gods, Zeus brings up the topic of a job for Hercules. He begs Apollo to allow Hercules to drive the sun buggy. Hades tells Pain and Panic that he wants to steal the sun to diminish the other god's respect for Zeus and attempt to win a re-vote. The minions ride after him on the Harpies. Herc loses control and they snatch the sun, returning to the Underworld and leaving the world in darkness. Chaos ensues, when looters take advantage of the darkness to break into the agora stores. Hades is the only one in a good mood, tanning in the Underworld. Cassandra directs thieves to an unlooted shop and Icarus defends his post at the lingerie store. Hades shows up on Mount Olympus to rub in the fact that Zeus can't find the sun or his son. Hades suggests the other gods set up a "No-Confidence" vote for Zeus' lack of foresight. Back in the Underworld, Pain and Panic are sleeping on watch duty. Soon the sun's beams begin peeking through the earth's surface. Icarus agrees to aid Hercules. The two set up a Gyro Wurld smoothie stand in the Underworld to accommodate the parched henchmen. While they are gorging themselves with drinks, Hercules slips away and retrieves the sun using the rules his boss taught him. As he carries it up a mountain, the gods vote for who the chief god will be. It comes to a tie, with Apollo being the tiebreaker. Hercules drops the sun onto the mountain which turns out to be a volcano which shoots the sun into the sky. Herc is dragged into the sky by the sun's chains. Just before Apollo can vote for Hades, the sun comes into sight and he votes for Zeus. Zeus zaps Hades off Mount Olympus with an emergency lightning bolt. As the sun regains its spot in the sky, everything returns to normal, and the Greek people take hope in the phrase "Make mine mutton." Songs *The Agora *Since the Light Went Away Notes * This is the first episode to refer to the narrator as Bob. * This was the first episode in the series to air as part of the Disney Afternoon, although this was not the first episode to be produced. * The looters are voiced by Dan Castellanetta, using the voice he uses for Groundskeeper Willie on The Simpsons. This is notable with the looter that threatens Cassandra. Category:Hercules episodes Category:Television episodes